Smoky marinated cremini mushrooms and peas are tossed with spaghetti in a silky tofu-cashew sauce to create this decadently delicious vegan spaghetti carbonara. It tastes like it came from a restaurant, but it’s easy to make at home — and 100% egg- and dairy-free!
Have you ever had spaghetti carbonara? I haven’t. It’s a dish that’s often referred to as “bacon and eggs pasta,” which means it was never really my jam. I didn’t even like bacon and eggs back in my omnivore days as a kid.
Jump to:
I learned about the dish when a customer requested it at an Italian restaurant I waited tables in during college — she actually had to explain what it was. And frankly… it didn’t sound great to me at the time. Still, I guess I filed it away in the totally irrelevant portion of my brain, only to retrieve it years later when I started coming up with recipes to veganize, including this vegan spaghetti carbonara.
Even though I can’t stand bacon or eggs, I love vegan bacon and eggs. Coconut bacon, tofu bacon, and tempeh bacon are all right up my alley. Vegan quiche, vegan omelet, and vegan scrambled eggs all get a big heck yes from me.
So when it came time to tackle carbonara, I was totally keen to get to work. We’re doing things a little differently from my other vegan bacon-and-egg–style recipes here, using smoky mushroom “bacon” and a silky tofu-cashew sauce for this dish.
I had to run the final version by my husband, because I’ve never had non-vegan carbonara. He said this version is better. Wow.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Soy sauce. Gluten-free tamari or liquid aminos can be substituted if needed.
- Maple syrup.
- Liquid smoke. Look for this near the barbecue sauce at your supermarket.
- Smoked paprika.
- Cremini mushrooms. This might also be labelled as baby bella or baby portobello mushrooms at your store. Use regular button mushrooms if you can't find them.
- Olive oil.
- Dried spaghetti. Feel free to substitute with another pasta shape, although spaghetti is traditional for pasta carbonara. Gluten-free pasta can be used if needed.
- Raw cashews. This is one of the main components of our vegan carbonara sauce. They definitely need to be raw (not roasted) for the sauce to taste right.
- Non-dairy milk. Use something unsweetened and unflavored such as soy, almond, or cashew milk.
- Silken tofu. I used firm silken tofu to make this recipe, but you can use soft if that's what you have on hand. Cut back on the amount of non-dairy milk if you do this.
- Nutritional yeast flakes. Look for these in the natural foods section of your supermarket, and feel free to leave them out if you're not a fan of them.
- Lemon juice. Use freshly squeezed juice to give your vegan carbonara sauce the best flavor.
- Salt. You can use regular table salt, or a product known as kala namak for extra eggy flavor. Kala namak is also known as black salt. It has a high sulfur content, so it tastes like eggs. Look for it in Indian markets or online.
- Garlic.
- Frozen peas.
- Fresh parsley.
- Vegan Parmesan cheese. This is totally optional and just for topping our pasta. Feel free to use store-bought or homemade vegan Parmesan.
- Red pepper flakes. These are optional — just use them if you'd like your vegan spaghetti carbonara with a little kick!
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- To make your mushroom bacon, start by mixing your soy sauce, maple syrup, liquid smoke, and smoked paprika in a small bowl.
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet and add roughly chopped mushrooms. Cook them for a few minutes, letting them sit on the hot surface in order to properly brown, then flip and cook them a few minutes longer.
- Carefully pour the sauce over the mushrooms and continue cooking them until the liquid has dried up and caramelized.
Tip: Avoid crowding the mushrooms in the skillet, as each one needs contact with the hot cooking surface. You can cook them in batches if you don't have enough space.
- Start cooking your pasta. Refer to the package directions and just cook it until al dente, then drain it into a colander. Reserve a bit of the pasta cooking water when you drain it.
- While the pasta cooks, make the sauce by blending the cashews (soaked in water to soften up first), milk, tofu, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and salt. I'm using a blender, but a large food processor will also work.
- Heat some olive oil in a skillet and briefly sauté minced garlic, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Add your cooked pasta to the skillet, along with the sauce and (thawed) frozen peas. Toss everything well to distribute all the sauce. If the sauce seems too thick, thin it with a bit of your reserved pasta water.
- Take the skillet off of the stove and season the sauce with salt or kala namak. Adjust any other seasonings to suit your taste, then top the pasta with vegan bacon as well as some vegan Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and fresh parsley if you'd like.
- Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
You certainly can. Use gluten-free pasta and replace the soy sauce with gluten-free tamari.
I don't recommend it. Regular tofu will blend up thick and it won't get smooth like silken tofu does. You'll end up with a sauce that has a texture more like thick ricotta cheese.
Leftover vegan spaghetti carbonara will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days or in the freezer for about 3 months. The sauce may thicken during storage. Simply add a splash of water when reheating if needed!
Variations
- Bacon swap. Not into mushroom bacon? Try coconut bacon, tofu bacon, chickpea bacon, or tempeh bacon.
- Add greens. Sautéed kale or spinach would be a delicious addition to this dish.
- Gnocchi carbonara. For an ultra comforting dinner, make this recipe with potato gnocchi instead of spaghetti. Most brands of shelf-stable gnocchi are vegan, but always check the ingredient label.
More Classic Vegan Pasta Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Spaghetti Carbonara
Ingredients
For the Mushroom Bacon
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 12 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
For the Pasta
- 16 ounces dried spaghetti
For the Vegan Carbonara Sauce
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed
- 12 ounces silken tofu (Note 1)
- 1 cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes, or to taste (optional, but adds a really nice flavor)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste (Note 2)
The Rest
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- Vegan Parmesan cheese, optional
- Red pepper flakes, optional
- Chopped fresh parsley, optional
Instructions
- To make the mushroom bacon, first stir the soy sauce, maple syrup, liquid smoke and smoked paprika together in a small bowl.
- Coat the bottom of a large skillet with the olive oil and place it over medium heat. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the mushrooms in an even layer. (Note 3)
- Cook the mushrooms for about 10 minutes, flipping them only once or twice, until they've shrunken a bit and browned.
- Carefully pour the soy sauce mixture over the mushrooms and allow them to cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until the liquid evaporates and forms a coating on the mushrooms.
- Remove the mushrooms from the skillet and transfer them to a plate.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook spaghetti according to package directions, until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta into a colander.
- Make the sauce while the pasta boils. Place the cashews, silken tofu, milk, nutritional yeast flakes, lemon juice, and salt into a blender or food processor bowl and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Wipe out the skillet you used to cook the mushrooms (it doesn't need to be perfectly clean) and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the garlic. Sauté the garlic for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
- Add the cooked pasta to the skillet, along with the sauce and peas. Toss everything to coat the pasta in sauce. You can thin the sauce with your reserved pasta water if it seems too thick.
- Remove the skillet from heat. Season the pasta with additional salt if desired. Top with mushroom bacon.
- Divide onto plates and serve with vegan Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and fresh parsley, if desired.
Notes
- I used firm silken tofu, but the recipe will also work with soft. Simply cut back on the non-dairy milk by a few tablespoons if using soft.
- A portion of the salt in this recipe can be substituted with kala namak/black salt, available at Indian Grocery stores. This will add eggy flavor. I recommend starting with no more than ¼ teaspoon of kala namak, then adding more to taste.
- The mushrooms can be cooked in batches if you don't have enough room in your skillet. It's important not to crowd them.
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Could you replace macadamias for cashews if you were allergic?
I think so! I haven't tried in this particular recipe, but they have worked for me in similar ones.
Could you make the sauce ahead?
Thank you, this is a fabulous recipe. My hubby doesn’t like tofu but he does love this dish. I usually have oat milk in the house as my non dairy milk and that works perfectly too, rather than soy or almond.
Is there something I could substitute for the tofu? I cannot have soy.
You could try using some extra cashews and non-dairy milk - maybe 1.5 times what the recipe calls for. If it seems too thick you can add even more milk to thin it out.
Hello,
this looks awesome. I will be making this Wednesday. what bis your preference,
Soy or almond milk?
I prefer soy, and WestSoy unsweetened is my favorite brand for savory recipes like this one.
Any recommendations on what to do if I don't eat tofu???
Maybe try some unflavored vegan yogurt. I haven't tried that myself, but I could see it working!
This looks delicious. It has all my favorite ingredients. It's making me hungry just looking at those photos!
Thanks Helena! I hope you get to give it a try and enjoy it!
My picky family devoured this! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! Delicious!
Yay!! I'm glad it was a hit! Thanks Jean!
i have to say that I have tried many of your recipes and have not been disappointed once. This was supper last night and we LOVED it. You have now made it onto my “favourites” so now I can find you easily. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes, we really appreciate it.
I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks so much Kay!!
Just made this for dinner...delicious!
Glad you like it!! Thanks Allison!
will try! can yor marinade sauce be used to smoke flavor coconut chips to use as simili bacon in salads for instance? ps i've used sunflower seeds instead of cashews before for nut allergies
Yup! I use a similar marinade for coconut, eggplant, tempeh...all kinds of stuff!
Looks delicious! Any suggestions for making this nut free? Please & thank you!
Thanks! Hemp seeds might work as a substitute for the cashews. You don't need to soak them, but I'd blend them up separately to start just to make sure they get fully blended.
Delicious. My mushrooms soaked for a few hours Nd were still delicious.
Glad you enjoyed it!!
I'm making this tonight! You say it makes a lot, do you know if the extra sauce would freeze well?
I'm not so sure it would, because freezing tofu tends to alter the texture. You'd be fine to keep it in the fridge for a couple of days though.
Oh WOW! Just made this for the first time tonight and I am THRILLED with how it came out! It is sooooo creamy and flavorful. Love the mushroom bacon -- I was a little skeptical as I like the "crunch" of tempeh bacon, but the mushrooms were perfect. A new favorite recipe!
I'm so glad to hear that! Thanks so much Marlene!
Do I drain the mushroom marinate or cook it with the mushrooms?
Also, do I drain the tofu?
I don't usually add the marinade when I cook the mushrooms for this, but you could if you want them to get extra flavorful. I'd give it a few more minutes of cook time for all the liquid to evaporate. Silken tofu isn't packed in water so there's no need to drain it. :)
I made this today and it is PHENOMONAL. Absolutely decadent. Killer recipe.
Glad you think so!!
Does it matter if you use firm or soft tofu? Silken has a couple varieties.
Look forward to making this!
You could probably get away with either, though I think soft would work best. I'd also go for a refrigerated variety, rather than shelf stable - I just think it tastes cleaner. :)
Just finished scoffing this down. Absolutely fabulous, and I mean FABULOUS! My parents are here visiting and they raved on about this meal. This dish is a keeper. I make new dishes at least three times a week and this is the best in quite a long time. I did cut back on the oil by frying the mushrooms with a spritz of olive oil from a can and did the same with the garlic. I swear I'm probably one of a handful of chubby vegans out there lol. I also added the black salt directly to my sauce before blending it all. Forgot to soak the cashews so I let them soak in boiled water for 30 mins. Vitamix did the rest ;) Thank you so much for a really, really, really great meal. Did I say really enough? Last night's new meal was somewhat of a flop so I was thrilled in presenting this scrumptious dinner tonight. Thanks again!
Awesome! I'm so happy to hear that it was a hit! Thank you so much for such a thoughtful review!!
Made this last night. Absolutely delicious! Looking forward to making.many more of your recipes. This was our first.
Thanks Angelina! I'm glad you enjoyed this!
I love pasta and yours looks delicious. It makes me want a bowl of it right now. Using cashews is so good for me because I always need to increase magnesium in my diet. And mushrooms are also my favorite, a winning combination, perfect.
Thanks Eddie! I hope you get a chance to give this a try, and enjoy. :)
Wow! I just made this and I'm on my second bowl! This was my first time cooking with silken tofu and I wasn't sure if I would be able to pull it off. But it turned out great! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome! So so glad you enjoyed it!!
We made this tonight and it was delicious! We love spicy food so extra black and red pepper amped it up to our preferred spice level.
I'm all about adding extra spices! Glad you liked it. Thanks for letting me know. :)
I just made this, and it's incredible. I'm vegetarian (and a huge fan of carbonara from the meat-eating days), my boyfriend is vegan, and we're both in love with this dish. Thank you!
Yay! Glad you're both enjoying it! Thanks for stopping by to let me know. :)
Just made and it was absolutely DELICIOUS! I downplayed how much I would enjoy the mushrooms lol, next time i am putting in significantly more - they were the best part! Will be making again, thanks again for the recipe!
Yay! The mushrooms were my favorite part too. :) Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your comment!
Do you need to drain the tofu before putting it in the blender?
Nope! It's silken tofu, so it's it's not packed in water like regular tofu. It's more like a custard that you can scoop right out of the package.
Is there a fB button I am missing where we are able to share your recipe from an email and post directly to fB? That would be so helpful.
Hi Debbie! There should be a bunch of social share buttons near the bottom of the email, right above the list of recent posts. They're very small, so easy to miss. I'll see if I can figure out a way to make them a bit larger next time I work on my email template. And thank you - I always appreciate a share! :)
Definitely making this one. Looks delicious!
Bookmarked this page! It looks and sounds like such a delicious meal!
Thanks so much for posting , I just said last night , I wish someone would come up with a vegan carbonara :) looking forward to giving this a try , looks relishes , you rock !!
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it!
Oh this sounds so so delicious! There's nothing like a big bowl of pasta to make you feel ALL the feels <3
Best carbonara you will ever have!!! Carbonara was one of my absolute favorites - so high calorie that I used to reserve it for my birthday....mostly. Going vegan was the absolute best choice I've ever made but I missed dishes like carbonara, gyros, etc.
This is better than any I have ever had - including a $250 version in NYC a few years back! Lucky to have people who post their amazing ideas!!!
Oh wow! I am SO happy to hear that!! Thank you for the wonderful review!